So...Here's the next chapter!Please check out the pairings poll on my page!
I'm actually pretty surprised to already see someone take on this challenge :P
Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis.
Chapter 1
The Secret is Revealed
The sky was a dull grey hue; It was a gloomy day. The usual crystal blue clarity of the sky was lost to the menacing clouds above. In the past few hours, the clouds had swollen up greedily, getting slowly darker and more threatening as time passed. They had appeared on the horizon in the early hours of the morning and had rolled over the hillside until the entire sky had been engulfed. It could be any second that they would let go and pour their contents onto the world below.
Ryoma frowned and leaned against the hard, plastic window of the small, jetliner aircraft. How he hated when the sky was like this; so monotone; so emotionless. Neither crystal, blue, or dark black, as it poured its contents out. It was as if the sky was stuck in its only little world; hiding it's emotions behind a bare, grey mask of cloud.
...
The car ride was silent. The occupants were practically suffocating in the tense atmosphere. No one broke the silence.
"Where are we going?" Bright, golden eyes narrowed suspiciously at the man behind the steering wheel. Blackish, emerald hair was brushed out of his face, with an irritated flick of a slender hand. The hand belonged to a boy no older than 15.
"You'll see when we get there," The man replied, his usual joking personality completely hidden by the serious mask now present on his face. Dark, brown hair was matched with oddly sad, dark brown eyes.
...
The plane was slowly climbing altitude, rising higher and higher into the dark, grey storm clouds. The tall high-rise buildings were slowly becoming smaller and smaller. The glow casted by the bright city lights of New-York illuminated the ground below, covering the city in a blanket of golden fire. To the passengers high-above, it was truly a sight to behold.
A feeling of intense sadness overwhelmed Ryoma as the plane took him farther and farther from his home; farther from where he belonged. He was leaving behind everything that he had ever known in his entire life; his friends, his school, his father, his home.
...
The miniature, red car pulled into the airport parking lot. It came to a slow and steady halt in one of the many empty parking spaces.
"Oyaji...why are we at the airport?" A curious, yet at the same time suspicious, voice broke the intense silence into a million pieces.
The man, who sat at the steering wheel, only stared blankly ahead; his gaze focused on nothing in particular. It was as if he was preparing himself for something. Exactly what he was preparing himself for, was still unknown.
"Oyaji?" The voice came again, this time more demanding and even more questioning.
"Ryoma.." The man finally spoke up. His voice was clouded with a mixture of pain and regret, leaving Ryoma to wonder what was wrong. "There's something I have to tell you, something you need to know."
...
The plane was now at a steady altitude, flying smoothly across the sky. Darkness had long since taken over the monotone sky. Eventually the plane had risen so high, that they broke free of the swarming clouds. Thousands of twinkling stars decorated the sky. The stars were complimented by a humongous, white, globe, that was the moon.
Ryoma let out a long, drawn out, sigh. He clearly remembered the look of internal conflict that had been present on his father's face; The look of immense regret, as if Nanjirou was apologizing in advance for whatever his father was about to tell him.
...
"You're not coming?" Ryoma shook silently in the passenger seat of the car. Beside him Nanjirou sat with his head bowed, not making eye contact with Ryoma, not even looking at his trembling son.
"Ryoma, please don't be upset. This was something I had to do," Nanjirou tried to reason, but Ryoma only shook his head in denial.
"Som..something you had t..to do?" Ryoma practically screamed at his father, who flinched at the harshness in his son's voice.
...
Ryoma shook his head. His golden eyes were oddly vacant of any warmth, instead they were filled with a deep pain. The young teen closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. His father had been a fool to think he wouldn't get upset.
"Baka Oyaji!" He murmured, an overwhelming sadness present in his voice.
...
Ryoma flung the back of the trunk open; his actions completely overcome by a dark, burning rage. A rage that was directed not only at his father, but also at his mother and the man who had offered his father the deal. Especially the man who had proposed the offer to his parents.
He lifted his suitcase out with an angry huff. He could hear the car door opening behind him and his father getting out.
"Ryoma please!" His father cried, voice desperate.
Ryoma continued to ignore his father, turning on his heals and marching across the parking lot, making his way towards the airport.
"Ryoma! Please try to understand!" His father shouted, running after him.
He stopped and spun around. His eyes were full of fury. "Understand what? You practically gave away my right to decide who I want to marry, all for a couple thousand dollars!I understand completely!" His voice shook as he yelled, releasing all the pent-up anger inside of him.
"That's not why! You have to understand the your mother and I were at the bottom of our ropes and it was either that or lose everything. It was the only option!" Nanjirou took a step towards his son, only for Ryoma to take another step back.
"Do you think I'm that stupid! You did this for you. I bet the deal was easy, huh? Just write your name down on a piece of paper and in return the guy gives you enough money to last you your entire life?" Ryoma pointed an accusing finger at his father. People had stopped making their way towards the airport, their attention now focused solely on the two shouting at each other across the parking lot.
"What did you want me to do? We were completely broke and in danger of losing our house. Not to mention you had just been born!" Nanjirou tried to plead with his son, but he could tell Ryoma wouldn't listen to any of it.
"You should have fought; fought to live rather than give up something that should be your son's decision and his alone!" Ryoma shouted, tears welled up in his eyes, threatening to fall at any moment. He held them back. Not wanting to give his father the satisfaction of seeing him cry."It's fine, you wanted me gone, I'll leave!"
Ryoma was about to stalk off, but his father had finally caught up and had placed a strong hand on his shoulder, stopping him from moving.
"You don't think I did? I tried my damned hardest to provide for your mother, and you, her unborn child. I did everything I possibly could. We didn't have the money to take care of ourselves, much less you. You have to understand that it was the only option! I understand I was being selfish, but it was either that or let you and your mother die." Nanjirou practically begged his son to understand, but Ryoma only narrowed his eyes.
"Some good that did hmm?" Ryoma snarled and Nanjirou flinched, retracting his hand as if it had been burned. Ryoma could see the pain that welled up in his father's eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment.
With one last glare directed at his father he whirled around, stalking through the crowd of people who had gathered around them and though the airport doors. For once, Nanjirou did nothing to stop his son, he couldn't. All he could do was stand there, tears falling down his face as his son left him to regret what he had done and could he honestly say he blamed him?
Ryoma was right; he was nothing, but a horrible father, not to mention, husband.
And now, He was officially alone.
Completely and utterly alone.
...
Ryoma knew what he said had been pretty low, and he tried to force himself to feel guilty, to feel something...anything, but he couldn't.
His mother had died three years ago. Cancer. Or at least that's what the doctors had said, and who was he to question their judgement. His mother had went through many surgeries and check-ups, but nothing had worked. Eventually her body had been unable to take it and she had just died. No warning. It was as simple as one day she had been alive and the next she wasn't.
His father had been pretty broken up after that. For almost a year, Nanjirou was nothing more than the shell of a human, having fallen into a deep state of depression. Then one day, completely out of the blue, he returned to being the old Nanjirou.
Scratch that; He was an even better father than before. He paid way more attention to Ryoma, came to all his tennis games, dropped him off and picked him up from school every single day. To put it simply; he was the perfect father.
He gazed out the window, finally releasing all the pent-up sadness within him. Slowly, but surely, he let the tears he had held back cascade down his face. They came out in waves, sliding down his face and falling onto the jacket sprawled across his lap.
He continued to silently sob, body shaking every so slightly. His father had told him to try to understand, but he couldn't. Believe him, he tried. But every time he thought of his father signing his rights to marriage away, all for a bit of money, a mixture of fury and sadness welled up within him.
After a couple minutes, he wiped away the tears that were still falling. He wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him cry, not his father, not his friends, not anyone.
He would stay strong. He would learn to take care of himself and learn not to rely on anyone. He would build an impenetrable wall around his heart, until no one could see his darkest fears and his deepest longings. He wouldn't let them.
These were the thoughts that filled his head as the plane rocked him to sleep. It only felt like a minute, before someone was gently shaking his shoulder, telling him the plane had landed.
He stood up, a look of determination across his face. He would meet his supposed soon to be 'husband' and he would study him, test him in many ways. He would see if this man had what it takes to gain his trust, his love. He would challenge this man with every ounce of his strength, to see if this man had what it taked to penantrate the concrete wall around his heart.
A/N
Soooooo...How was it?
Again, I encourage people to check out the pairings poll on my page. If you don't see the pairing you want, pm me it. Or if you don't have an account just write it in a review. Which brings me on to the next subject...
Review and tell me how I did. Heck flame it for all I care LoL